Tuesday, 19 June 2012

With Pakistan stealing a swift march in the “eyes in the sky” arena
and China already way ahead, India is now going to launch its own
full-blown futuristic AWACS (airborne warning and control system)
programme.
“Clearances are underway” to initially develop two AWACS aircraft,
with four more to follow at a later stage, under the new `AWACS-India’
project to be executed by DRDO and its Bangalore-based Centre for Air
Borne Systems(CABS).
“Under it, 360-degree AESA (active electronically scanned array)
radars will be mounted on large aircraft like IL-76, Boeing or Airbus,”
said a DRDO source.
Potent force-multipliers like AWACS or AEW&C (airborne early
warning and control) systems have changed the entire nature of air
warfare because they can detect incoming aerial threats, ranging from
fighters to cruise missiles, much before ground-based radars.
They also serve to direct air defence fighters during combat
operations with enemy jets and also help in tracking troop build-ups.
Pakistan already has four Swedish Saab-2000 AEW&C aircraft, with
four more Chinese ZDK-03 AWACS in the pipeline. China has around 20
AWACS, a mix of new and old systems, say sources.
But IAF has only three Phalcon AWACS mounted on IL-76 aircraft, under
the $1.1 billion tripartite agreement among India, Israel and Russia
finalized in 2004, despite being confronted with two potentially hostile
fronts.
The case for two additional “follow-on” Phalcon AWACS, with a range
of over 400-km and 360-degree coverage like the first three, has run
into some rough weather due to sharp cost escalation.
Moreover, DRDO’s ongoing mini-AWACS project, under which indigenous
AEW&C systems are to be mounted on three Embraer-145 jets obtained
from Brazil for $210-million, has also slipped after being approved in
October, 2004, at a cost of Rs 1,800 crore.
DRDO, however, contends the project is now on track. “CABS will get
the first Embraer, modified with antenna units and other structures
mounted on its fuselage, in July,” said an official.
“All electronic systems, with a normal radar range of 250-km and a
240-degree coverage, will then be integrated. The first flight should
take place in early-2013. The project completion date is April 2014,”
said an official.
IAF is awaiting the completion of the mini-AWACS project as well as
the launch of the larger ‘AWACS-India’ programme with crossed fingers.
AWACS also constitute a crucial constituent of its IACCS (integrated air
command and control system) programme, the fully-automated network
being set up to integrate the wide array of military radars with each
other as well as with civilian radars to plug surveillance gaps in
Indian airspace

I thought that the follow-on for 2 additional phalcons was a for gone
conlcusion. Sad to hear that it has run into rough weather. Hope it
materialises and we have 3 + 2 phalcons.